Yellow Cab and other taxi companies owned by Dallas' biggest cab operator may have been violating the city's insurance requirements for years, the Dallas Morning News reported.

According to the Morning News, companies owned by Irving Holdings Inc. appear to have insurance policies that include a "self-insured retention" that pays claims up to $250,000. It said that city law changed in 1996 to mandate the cab companies use independent companies for tax insurance, and the none of the cab companies' employees have ownership in those insurance firms.

The newspaper reported that injured people could be at a disadvantage in negotiating claims because they might be dealing directly with company employees. Also, companies that self-insure might pay much lower premiums that than their competitors.

An attorney for Yellow Cab told the Morning News that he thinks the company is in compliance.

“This is what we’ve been filing for several years,” attorney John Barr told the newspaper. “If … [city officials] have a problem with it, and they want us to change, we’ll change.”

He told the Morning News that an outside administrator handles all claim payments and that Irving Holdings pays roughly $5 million a year for its insurance.